I’ve been reflecting on a recent partnership that fell apart, and I think I finally understand what went wrong. On the surface, everything looked great. The other agency had complementary services, they had US market expertise, we had Russian market expertise. Perfect fit, right?
But about two months in, I realized we had completely different definitions of success. They were optimizing for fast turnaround and volume. We were optimizing for quality and deep client relationships. They saw each project as individual wins. We saw it as relationship building toward bigger opportunities.
Neither approach was wrong, but by the time we realized we weren’t aligned, we’d already wasted time and burnt some client trust.
This has me thinking: How do you actually surface and negotiate these kinds of foundational goal misalignments before you commit big resources? Are there frameworks or conversations you use early on to avoid this? How do you know if you can actually make compromises work, or if some differences are just dealbreakers?
This is the partnership question. And yes, this is absolutely where most partnerships fail—not from lack of competence, but from hidden goal misalignment.
Here’s what I do now, and it sounds simple but most people skip it:
Before any real work together, I have a very explicit conversation about goals. I share my 3-5 year vision for my agency, what we optimize for, and what we’re willing to compromise on. Then I ask my potential partner to do the same.
I specifically ask:
- Are you trying to maximize revenue per client, or number of clients?
- Do you prioritize speed or quality? (And what does each actually mean to you?)
- Are you looking for deep, long-term partnerships or transactional work?
- What does ‘success’ look like for your agency in 2-3 years?
- If we have a conflict between speed and quality, which wins?
Their answers tell you everything. And I listen very carefully to what they don’t say, too.
If their 3-year vision doesn’t include depth and you prioritize relationships, that’s a red flag. If they’re all about volume and you’re all about margin, you’ll eventually butt heads on how to work together.
I also ask about conflict resolution upfront: ‘When we disagree on strategy or approach, how do you want to handle it?’ Their answer matters. Some partners want to debate and decide together. Others want to defer to who knows the market better. Some want to escalate to leadership. Know this in advance.
And here’s the key: I document this conversation. Not as a legal contract, but as a ‘Partnership Operating Agreement.’ Both of us sign it. It’s not binding—it’s a commitment to how we’ll work together. And when conflicts come up (and they will), we reference it. ‘Remember we said quality > speed? Let’s honor that.’
From my angle working with different agencies: I can tell pretty quickly if an agency’s actually aligned with me. It’s in how they talk about creators and content.
Some agencies see creators as resources to be managed and squeezed for deliverables. Others see us as partners and collaborators. The ones who treat me like a partner get my best work.
So if you’re partnering with an agency, ask them: ‘How do you work with creators?’ Listen closely. If they talk about minimizing costs and maximizing throughput, they see creators as a commodity. If they talk about quality and collaboration, they’re different.
I’m saying this because goal misalignment between agencies often comes down to how they value their actual creators. If your partner sees creators as interchangeable, you’ll have different philosophies about content quality and creator relationships.
Also, big-picture: I like working with agencies where it’s clear they’re in it for the long game. They invest in relationships. They’re not trying to squeeze every penny out of every project. That long-term thinking attracts good creators and leads to better work.
So when you’re assessing partner alignment, ask: ‘Are you optimizing for the next project or the next 5 years?’ The answer tells you everything.